Southern Research Receives BARDA Award to Develop New Models for Biological Threat Countermeasures

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Southern Research today announced that it has been awarded a contract from the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services (HHS) Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) to develop novel animal models for testing the effectiveness of medical countermeasures against biological threat agents.

“This work will play a key role in protecting against potential public health issues,” said Zara Llewellyn, Ph.D., Project Manager at Southern Research and Principal Investigator. “Our research will help to successfully develop vaccines and therapeutics that will be used to protect people against exposure to biological threat agents. This work is important, especially since drug and vaccine effectiveness against many of these diseases could never be verified in clinical studies.”

Southern Research, with significant experience in emerging infectious disease research, has played a leading role in evaluating vaccines and therapeutics for influenza and emerging biological threats, most recently evaluating vaccine candidates for highly pathogenic Avian influenza (HPAI.) This work will be conducted using Good Laboratory Practices (GLP) guidelines.

Research under this BARDA program will be conducted under Contract #HHSO100201100007I. This task order type contract has a guaranteed minimum of $50,000 and a maximum of $100 million.

About Southern Research

Southern Research Institute, founded in 1941, is an independent non-profit organization conducting basic and applied research and development. The scientific and technical staffs support commercial and government clients and partners in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, defense, aerospace, environmental and energy sectors through technology out-licensing, sponsored research, and strategic collaborations. Headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., Southern Research has facilities in Wilsonville, Ala., Frederick, Md., and Durham, NC and offices in Huntsville, Ala., New Orleans, La., Washington, DC and Kiev, Ukraine.